Industry sectors

Dancers

What are the best floors for your needs?

The dance studio is essentially a dancer's 'work' environment, the floor being the tool that is a fundamental part of their work which is why making the correct choice of dance floor is vital.

Whether you choose a sprung floor with a vinyl or hardwood surface, or simply a vinyl floor, there is increasing focus towards choosing dance floors that meet both performance aspirations as well as conforming to health and safety requirements to minimise the risk of falling or incurring injury.

A sprung floor is a floor that provides some degree of bounce and flexes under impact. Vinyl dance floors can be used alone as a dance surface or on a sprung sub-floor. They offer added assurance for better protection from injury.

Choosing a floor very much depends on the dance style. Browse our range to get a better idea of the best floor for your needs or use our Floor Selector Guide to narrow down your search.

How Harlequin are supporting dancers

Harlequin has been working closely with the dance community for many years to develop a range of floors suitable for all forms of dance, from classical ballet to tap and street.

Reducing dancer injury is an important part of Harlequin's product development and through testing and discussions with some of the world's biggest dance companies, we are continually trying to improve.

Harlequin produced a White Paper entitled 'The facts about sprung floors for dance' outlining the research that has been carried out concerning dance floors.

In 2011, Dance UK launched a new initiative called NIDMS (National Institute of Dance Medicine and Science). Harlequin was pleased to support this vital project which aims, through shared expertise and a network of multidisciplinary hub-sites and partners, to provide access for all dancers to high quality, evidence-based, dance specific healthcare and dance science services.

Interesting facts

You may hear terms like 'area elastic' and 'point elastic' when discussing floors. An area-elastic floor flexes over a wider area to avoid the 'trampoline effect' whereas a point-elastic floor shows deflection or 'give' only at the point of contact.

When planning a dance space, the height of the room is just as important so dancers do not feel inhibited in achieving height, especially when jumping. Often, one dancer may need to stand on the shoulders of another and raise his or her arms in the air, so a ceiling height of at least 3.5 metres is ideal.

The dance space rule of thumb is to provide primary school aged children with 3m² of space per participant and for secondary school children and adults, 5m² per participant.

Still unsure?

If you would like further information, FREE samples, a quote or just wish to discuss your requirements in more detail then feel free to contact our experienced sales team. They've worked on a wide range of projects and can advise on the best floors for your needs, along with accessories and aftercare.